Not only has the kitchen become the heart of the home, it has taken the role as the connector to the living, dining, entertaining and outdoor zones.
New homes have the kitchen as the central point that other areas all connect to. The open plan design has become more and more popular purely because kitchens have become the entertainer’s space and the place to nourish your family. The thought of being huddled away in a closed off kitchen away from the family or guests became a deterrent for property buyers.
But there’s another reason why kitchens sell homes - they are a serious financial investment. Get it right and buyers won’t need to consider changing or spending money on the kitchen. They might even fall in love with the property because of it. Get it wrong and buyers will take one look at the kitchen and think ‘how much is this going to cost to replace?’ – and down goes the purchase price.
So how do you keep up with kitchen trends without becoming out of date?
Here are our favourite kitchen design trends and tips for always current kitchens.
1. The white kitchen
The white-on-white kitchen copped a bad rap recently by an article on Domain. We disagree and think the all white kitchen is a great base for any property as it gives you the ability to update it easily to the latest kitchen design trend. It’s easy to convert an all-white kitchen to a black and white combo by updating chrome tapware to matt black and updating a row of overhead cupboards to the latest colour scheme. Adding timber panels or just updating a splash back can transform an all-white kitchen and give it some up-to-date personality at minimal cost.
It’s also very difficult to be offended by an all-white kitchen, unless the finishes or quality are poor.
2. Keep your design in style with the house
Always match the design of the kitchen to the style of the house. That means if you have a traditional heritage style property complete with features, don’t put a slick modern kitchen in. Also, don’t try to cram your dream Hamptons style kitchen into an ultramodern property. Mixing designs will create confusion and inconsistency across the property.
3. Pick a timber and stick to it
One of the latest trends is to use timber in kitchens, which adds a lovely warmth to the room. But please make sure you only use one type of timber and make sure it compliments your flooring. This is hard to do if you’ve already got timber flooring, but match your tones and type of timber so they don’t clash.
4. Lux it up with accents of gold and bronze
Chrome and copper is so last season! The best way to update your kitchen is to introduce accents of the luxurious metals like gold and bronze. Copper came and went, so if you’re looking to sell now, find a fabulous gold tap or knobs or handles and update all the accessories. These metals look great against matt black cupboard doors or even white or marble based kitchens.
If you’re installing a new kitchen and you might be selling in a few years, take a look at the all the elements that you could update easily and with minimal cost. If you have a neutral base, be it white or black, identify all the components like taps, knobs, handles and pendant lights that you could replace to suit the latest trend. Always ensure functionality is priority rather than an on-trend design feature. Green walls will come and go, but if your kitchen is functional and has good bones, you can always give it a good face-lift. That way you’ll stay ahead of the design curb and compete with brand new properties that have the latest design.